Francisco Jimenez

Francisco Jimenez is the author of "Breaking Through." In the anecdotes Francisco recalls throughout the book, he is the main subject. Toward the beginning of the novel, Francisco's age is between 4 and 14 years old, when he and most of his family were in the United States illegally. Most of the memoirs, however, are written from Francisco's perspective as a teenager, after he and the rest of his family became legal immigrants.

Francisco's character is evident through his stories. He was hard-working throughout his adolescence, working before and after school, as well as keeping up his grades and participating in extracurricular activities. In his adolescent years, Francisco was intentional about respecting his parents and never letting down his family, hence the hard work to bring in extra income. He rarely asked for anything outside of the basic necessities, and only did so when it was absolutely required...